Device for automatically recording blood settling



Jan. 14,1969 H. H. G. A. JANSEN 3,422,443

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY RECORDING BLOOD SETTLING Filed April 19, 1967Sheet of 5 l/ELMUT HUGO GEDRG ALEXA/V0.5? JANSEN 47'TOR/VEYS 1969 H. H.G. A. JANSEN 3,422,443

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY RECORDING BLOOD SETTLING Filed April 19, 1967Sheet 2. of s l/VVEA/fO/P l/ELMUT Ill/G0 660/?6 ALEXANDER JAMSEN 9 H. H.G. A. JANSEN 3,422,443

DEVICE FOR AUTOMATICALLY RECORDING BLOOD SETTLING Filed April 19, 1967Sheet 3 of 5 /A/I W7'0P yam/r #uaa asana MEXA/VDEI? JA NSEN ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent U.s.-'-c1. 346-107 7 Claims Int. or. com 9/42; can3/00 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Disclosure relates to a device forautomatically recording the blood settling rate in a sedimentation tubecomprising an opaque block having an opening for receiving thesedimentation tube, a plurality of chambers having individual lampstherein and channels extending therefrom in intersecting paths whichcross at the opening for the tube, a light sensitive paper at the endsof the channels opposite the chambers, and clock operated switches forenergizing the lamps in a fixed time sequence to record the amount oflight passing through the blood in the tube on different areas of thelight sensitive paper.

The invention relates to a device for automatically recording bloodsettlings in the sedimentation tube according to Westergren (Erg. inMed. Kinderheilk. 26 (1924),

The usual method of blood settling comprises reading off thesedimentation of blood corpuscles in the sedimentation tube according toWestergren after 1 hour and after 2 hours, i.e. after the stated timesthe level of the boundary layer between the lower layer rich in bloodcorpuscles and therefore opaque and the clear liquid above it isdetermined by means of a calibration scale. Even today this is generallydone by setting an alarm clock to the given times and reading off thecorresponding values when the alarm rings, the values then beingrecorded by hand.

In medical practice however, it has turned out that the person takingthe readings often misses the correct time, being engaged in other workor not hearing the alarm ring. As a result of this, a series of bloodsettlings must be repeated, this leading to additional work and waste oftime which is quite considerable with regard to the test period of 2hours.

In order to avoid the above disadvantages of visual determination ofblood settling and recording by hand, devices were already constructed,as is well known, in which the course of the sedimentation is recordedin the form of a curve by continuous exposure of a photographic filmmoving slowly past the sedimentation tube. A device of this kind couldnot be used in practice however as it is relatively complicated to readoff the curves produced and on the other hand relatively large amountsof lightsensitive film material are required.

In order to avoid these short-comings, it was further proposed in aprior application to arrange the sedimentation tube between a lightsource and a fixed, light-sensitive paper and to take exposures after 1hour and after 2 hours without displacing the light source or the paper,so that the upper part of the plasma area is exposed twice, while thelower part, i.e. the increase of the second hour, is only exposed once.As the boundary line between the section which is exposed once and thatwhich is exposed twice is often very difiicult to ascertain andcomplicated development methods are required, this device was also notsatisfactory in practice.

The invention therefore sets out to provide a new device forautomatically recording blood settlings, eliminating all the abovedisadvantages of known devices and methods,

the device operating automatically once it Was switched on and requiringno attention or work at all until the development process of thelight-sensitive paper and gives recorded values which may be readrapidly and with absolute security. A device with such features is ofparticularly high value for the reason that blood settlements in medicalpractice are generally concurrent with other activities, so that it isessential that the person operating the device need give it no moreattention once it has been switched on.

The device for automatically recording blood settlings according to theinvention, having a sedimentation tube arranged vertically between alight-source and light-sensitive paper is characterised in that thesedimentation tube is arranged at the inter-section of crossed lighttunnels, one end of each tunnel opening out at a distance from theother, in the vicinity of the light-sensitive paper and being covered bythis latter, and the other end of each tube opening out into a chamber,each chamber having a light source, that the chambers for the lightsources are substantially sealed to prevent leakage of light from one tothe other, and a programming device is provided which successivelyswitches on the light sources after predetermined intervals of time andswitches off each source after a period long enough to expose thelight-sensitive paper.

In the usual method according to Westergren in which the level ofsedimentation is recorded after 1 hour and after 2 hours, there are inthe device two crossed light tunnels which are for example at an angleof The angle of the light tunnels is not critical however, so thataccording to the requirements of the device light tunnels may also beprovided which are set at an acute or an oblique angle. If more than tworeadings of the blood settlement are to be taken, three light tunnelseach at an angle of 60 to each other, or four light tunnels, each at anangle of about 50 to each other, may be provided.

A transparent calibration scale may with advantage be provided betweenthe light-sensitive paper and the light tunnel ends which open out infront of this latter, so that upon exposure of the paper, thecalibration values are also recorded in the light-sensitive paper andthe blood settlement can thus be read rapidly and without error afterthe light-sensitive paper has been developed. Such a calibration scalewhich is preferably calibrated according to Westergren comprises forexample, a darkened film plate, only the graduations, numerical valuesand two vertical strokes are transparent for projecting the levels ofsedimentation in the sedimentation tube.

In addition the device is with advantage provided with a pressure platehinged on the device, the pressure plate pressing the light-sensitivepaper against the calibration scale so that the projected graduationsare sharply outlined.

The programming device can be in various forms in known manner, butpreferably comprises a programming disc driven by a motor and revolvingin a given period, e.g. about 2 hours, this programming disc switchingon and off the light sources by successive switch activation atpredetermined times, e.g. about 1 hour and 2 hours.

The light emitted by the light sources may with advantage be focused byconverging lenses or prisms between the light source and thesedimentation tube. Polarisation films can with advantage be arrangedbetween the light sources and the light-sensitive paper, these filmspolarising the light beam in known manner, wherein the directions ofpolarisation of the light emitted by the different light sources arepreferably turned with respect to each other, for example through anangle from 90, in order to prevent light from one light source enteringthe other light tunnel not provided for this light source, and thuscompletely exclude premature exposure through the second and subsequentlight tunnels. It has surprisingly been found that additional devices ofthis type are generally not required, as when one of the light sourcesare switched on, none or only a negligible amount of light escapes atthe intersection of the light tunnels into the other light tunnels sothat premature exposure of the lightsensitive paper via these followinglight tunnels does not generally take place.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention thelight-sensitive paper is wound on a reel in a supply container below thelight tunnels and from there is guided past the openings of the lighttunnels to the upper end of the device. After the last exposure has beentaken, the strip of exposed paper can be pulled vertically upwards andtorn off at a suitable length. The device is thus ready for repeatedblood settlement, as light-sensitive paper is pulled from the supplycontainer.

So that the light-sensitive paper is torn from the strip in the correctlength, there is preferably below the light tunnels a spring-puncher oranother punching device by means of which a hole is punched in the stripbefore it is pulled out, this hole appearing some time after at theupper edge of the device when the strip is pulled out, and serves toindicate that the strip of light-sensitive paper can be torn off at thispoint.

The invention will now be further illustrated with reference to thedrawing, without the preferred embodiment shown in the drawingrestricting the invention. The drawing shows:

FIG. 1, a horizontal cross-section of a device according to theinvention,

FIG. 2, a perpendicular cross-section taken at the line II-II of FIG. 1and,

FIG. 3, a wiring diagram for activation of the programming device of thedevice according to the invention.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 1 has twocrossed light tunnels 2 and 3 which open at their one end into chambers4 and 5 with lamps 6 and 7 and at their other end open out in front of astrip of light-sensitive paper 8. The inter-section 9 of the lighttunnels 2 and 3 is somewhat enlarged and contains the sedimentation tube10. The free end of the lightsensitive paper strip 8 which is wound on areel 11 in the supply container 12 and which passes through a lighttightguide 13 and over a guide reel 14 projects from the housing 1 at 15; thelight-sensitive paper strip is pressed by means of a pressure plate 16against the adjacent openings of the light tunnels 2 and 3 as wellagainst the calibration scale 17 in an additional light tunnel 18. Thepres sure plate is hinged on the housing 1 at 19 and is pressed by meansof a screw 20 against the light-sensitive paper 8. In the pressure plate16 there is also a spring punoher 21 below the light tunnels 2 and 3 andserves to punch the light-sensitive strip in order to show at what pointit may be torn off when pulled from the housing.

Converging lenses 22, 23 and 24 are also provided in the chambers 4 and5. A chamber 25 mounted at the side, contains the programming devicewhich is shown in diagrammatic form in FIG. 1 as the motor 26 which isswitched on by means of a switch 27 when analysis begins and rotates aprogramming disc 28 which activates after given periods of time first ofall the switch 29 for switching on the light source 7 and subsequentlythe switch 30 for switching on the light source 6.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit diagram for the programming device; this diagramwill illustrate the course of blood settlement recording with the deviceaccording to the invention. In the initial position, the switch lever 32which may move about an axis 31 into the dash-dotted position, thisswitching lever being connected by a spring device 33 to any fixed partof the device, covers the channel 9 formed at the inter-section of lighttunnels 2 and 3. In order to introduce the sedimentation tube 10 intothe channel 9, the switching lever 32 must be moved against the spring33 into the position shown in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 3; thesedimentation tube can then be inserted. When the switching lever 32 isturned into the position shown in dash-dotted lines, it moves the switch34 to the position shown in dash-dotted lines, whereby the circuit viaswitch 35 to the motor 26 with the programming disc 28 is closed and theprogramming disc rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow. Theprogramming disc comprises three discs lying one above the other androtating synchronously, each disc having a contact arm 38, 39 and 40.After the contact disc has rotated for 60 minutes, the contact arm 38comes into contact with the switch 37 and moves this into the positionshown in dashdotted lines, thus switching on the lamp 6. The contact arm38 activates the switch 37 for some 30 seconds, whereupon the lamp 6 isswitched off. After the programming disc has rotated for another 60minutes, the contact arm 40 activates in the same way the switch 36 forsome 30 seconds, the lamp 7 being illuminated for that period. Thecontact arm 39 is mounted in such a way that it comes into contact withthe switch 35 essentially immediately after the lamp 7 is switched offand moves this switch 35 into the position shown in dash-dotted lines.This breaks the circuit to the motor 26 so that the programming disc 28comes to rest. If after a certain time, the sedimentation tube isremoved from the channel 9, the switching lever 32 returns to itsinitial position by reason of the action of the spring 33, the switch 34also returning to its initial position and closing the circuit throughthe motor 26 via the switch 35 in the position shown in dash-dottedlines. In this way the programming disc 28 is again set in motion untilthe contact arm 39 releases the switch 35 and this latter returns to itsinitial position. Thus the circuit through the motor 26 is againinterrupted and the device is in the initial position shown in FIG. 3,ready for renewed recording of blood settlement. The poles of the gridconnections are shown by 41 and 42.

Numerous modifications can obviously be made within the concept of theinvention so that the invention is not limited to the embodiment shownin the drawings. For example, more than two light tunnels with theirrespective light sources may be provided in order to record bloodsettlement over a greater number of periods. In addition, theprogramming device can be altered as required, if it is desired to takerecordings of blood settlements at other intervals of time. Converginglenses 22 to 24 can also be omitted or replaced by polarisation films toguard against stray light. If polarisation films are used, the polariseris preferably mounted at the opening of the light tunnels into thechambers having the light sources, and the analyser at the openings ofthe light tunnels in front of the light-sensitive paper. Instead of thelightsensitive paper, a light-sensitive film or other lightsensitivematerial can also be used if so desired. The spring puncher shown in thedrawing can also be omitted or replaced by another marking device. Thereis also a device which controls insertion of the sedimentation tube soaccurately that the upper liquid level in the sedimentation tube 10 isbrought to coincidence with the upper limit of the light tunnels. Thisde vice preferably comprises a clamp for the sedimentation tube with apin which is vertically displacable therein and the lower end of whichmay be inserted into the clamp, this lower end being set at exactly thesame distance from the lower surface of the clamp as the upper edge ofthe channel 9 is set from the upper edge of the light tunnels. If thisdevice is used, before the sedimentation tube is inserted into thechannel 9, it is fixed in the clamp in such a way that the lower end ofthe pin is exactly on a level with the level of liquid in thesedimentation tube. The sedimentation tube in the clamp is then insertedinto the channel until the lower surface of the clamp rests on thechannel 9, the movable pin then being inserted into the clamp.

After the motor 26 is switched off, the exposed paper strip 8 which ispunched by means of the spring puncher 21 is drawn out of the device at15, until the hole produced by the puncher 21 is visible. The strip oflightsensitive paper is torn off at this point and developed as usual. Alight-sensitive paper which can be developed in daylight is preferablyused. Light-sensitive film or plates for example may also be used inorder to be able to make prints.

I claim:

1. A device for automatically recording blood settling rates comprisinga housing of opaque material having walls forming an upright channel andangularly related light tunnels crossing each other at the channel, alight source at one end of each tunnel, a light sensitive paper at theopposite ends of said angularly related tunnels, a sedimentation tubearranged vertically in said channel between the light sources and thelight-sensitive paper, the sedimentation tube being arranged in thechannel at the intersection of the crossed light tunnels with the end ofone tunnel spaced from the end of the other tunnel adjacent thelight-sensitive paper, a chamber enclosing the light source at the otherend of each tunnel and the walls of the tunnels preventing leakage oflight from one tunnel to the other, and a programming device havingswitches for successively turning on the light sources afterpredetermined intervals of time and turning off each source after aperiod of time long enough to expose the light-sensitive paper.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which a transparent calibrated scaleis provided between the lightsensitive paper and at least one of thelight sources.

3. A device according to claim 1 in which the program ming devicecomprises a ca m disc driven by a clock to revolve at a predeterminedrate, and said cam disc actuating switches to turn the light sources onand off in succession at predetermined times.

4. A device according to claim 1 in which the lightsensitive paper is inthe form of a strip and guided from a supply container adjacent thebottom of the device and upwardly across the light tunnels toward thetop of the device.

5. A device according to claim 2 in which the lightsensitive paper ispressed against the calibration scale by a plate hinged to the housingat one side for movement on the housing toward and away from the paper.

6. A device according to claim 1 in which a punch is provided on thehousing below the light tunnels and adapted to pierce thelight-sensitive paper to indicate the length of paper exposed to light.

7. A device according to claim 1 in which the programming device is aclock for operating the switches at one and two hour intervals of time.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 904,310 11/1908 Cole 346-108 X2,725,782 12/1955 Worley 346l07 X 3,288,019 11/1966 Blumenfeld 88-14RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH W. HARTARY, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 88-l4

